Re: F 20 information

Posted by LenRahilly on January 17, 2007 at 18:31:53 from (75.69.102.85):

In Reply to: F 20 information posted by Scott in SC on January 17, 2007 at 11:22:16:

Hi, Scott. I spent quite a few years working with an F-20, and owned a "restorer" a few years ago, as well. Here are a few thoughts:
1. I have an owner's manual, with parts lists included, for the very late model which had the variable governor (the throttle rod is on the left side of the gas tank--notched like on the F-12/F-14). Gordon Rice, mentioned by another correspondent here, probably has reprints; I believe that there is a separate parts book available, but I don't have that. If you desperately need info, let me know and I will either look up or copy necessary pages and send to you.
2. I have one of those all-makes repair books (Motor's, I think), which has some information on repairs to IH tractors of that vintage. Same offer as above.
3. The F-20 is a brute for work, because it has a big, slow-turning engine with high torque. Originally on steel wheels, it wouldn't set the world on fire, but on rubber (much less power wasted driving the lugs into the ground), it became a whole nuther animal. I spent quite a few years with two H's, and they could not pull the same load, at the same speed, as the F-20. The H has a smaller, high-revving engine, which works ok as long as the revs are kept up. Pull it down and there isn't much torque left to keep it going. The F-20 would pull right on even when heavily overloaded.
4. The F-20 is a rough rider, because of where the seat is (front wheels down, seat seesaws up, and vice versa). Without a muffler, it's really noisy. The driving position is pretty uncomfortable if you have to be on it all day. There's no really comfortable place to put your feet.
5. There were two types of governors. The original governor is identical to the governor on the later original Farmalls (the one everybody calls the "Regular," although I don't think IHC ever did). This governor really governs only when the throttle is fully open. The throttle lever is right in front of the steering wheel.
Sometime late in production, in 1937, I think, IHC changed the governor to the "variable" type, which means that the governor worked over a pretty wide range of speeds. You could throttle back and still get governing action. The IHC
variable governor has the notched rod on the left side of the gas tank. There were conversion kits that could be bought from outside parts suppliers, and these usually had a somewhat different-looking control, from the pictures I have seen of them.
6. The original manifold was made for kerosene or distillate. There was a lever on the side of the manifold that could be moved to the "cold" position for use on gasoline. Compression ratio remained low now matter what fuel was used, because kerosene and distillate cannot support a high compression ratio without knocking. IHC made a "high-altitude" piston for use in high mountains, but I don't know what the compression ratio was or whether it would have been too high for use with gasoline at lower altitudes.
Again, some of the outside parts suppliers had "gasoline" manifolds to convert to all-gasoline. They are pretty easy to spot--the intake and exhaust parts of the manifold are pretty much separate. The original kerosene/distillate manifold is thick and blocky, with a great square part in the middle where that conversion lever is. Most of those manifolds burnt through years ago, and from what I can see at shows, most have been replaced with the conversion manifold. I do not know if IHC
ever made a conversion manifold.
If the original manifold is intact, there should be a rod going back to a lever at the left side of the rear gas tank support.
7. Lubrication is by splash to the rod bearings and to the two main crankshaft ball bearings. There is no center main bearing. The valves are lubricated by squirting oil onto felts--the two
"lubricators" are on top of the valve cover, and should have spring-loaded lids to lift up.
8. The magneto for the later models is an IHC
F-4. I think the very early models may have used an IHC E-4A, like a lot of the other IHC tractors from the twenties. I seem to remember that the tractor could be ordered with a Bosch magneto, but I can't swear to that without doing some "research." Sometimes you see magnetos on these tractors that are not original, but which were made to fit (Fairbanks-Morse is one name I seem to remember). They were sometimes much smaller and "don't look right."
9. If you are new to these old beasts and need to crank it, make sure that the impulse coupling engages before you pull up. It makes a jingling noise as you turn the mag shaft. If the coupling lever doesn't drop into the notch on the mag shaft (and retard the mag)there is a great chance that you'll get a kickback. This engine is big, and the kick is dangerous. Do NOT push down on the crank. Many broken arms back in the "old days."
10. I hope this isn't entirely just palaver. I used to love the old monster, even though it was a punisher to ride on for very long. Still love to natter on about it to anybody who'll listen.

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